TRAVEL DIARY | Summer 2017!

My summer holidays are nearly always spent in Marmaris, Turkey. It’s been our family holiday destination since 2006, but this year, I felt like a change-up. I’m nearly 21 and there were so many places I hadn’t yet made it to – some I could literally see from my bedroom window! So, I renewed my passport, saved up some money, and off I went!

I’ve ventured off to three different countries in the last few months; I’ve been carrying out an internship in communications since May at the same time, so annoyingly I haven’t had total freedom in my movements – but I’ve been really lucky to get the opportunity to gain experience AND travel a little bit at the same time!

España

My first trip was to Spain… admittedly, Magaluf to be more precise. It was a last-minute group trip with my friends after finishing our exam period – definitely needed! Obviously, Maga doesn’t offer much in the way of blog-worthy photos… or public-worthy in any way. But we visited at the start of May, just before the season really got off to a start, and it was a totally fab time to go. Everywhere was just busy enough without it being the crazy rush you’d expect, and it was cheap as too! We also stayed at the amazing BH Mallorca – free bar till 9pm? Eh, yes please! It totally exceeded my expectations, and I 100% would love to go back sometime.

Actually, I just realised something that was blog-worthy – the food was actually amazing in Magaluf. I found the most amazing carbonara, and then later on (in the week, not the day, God) probably the best nachos I’ve ever had; and I’ve had a lot of nachos in my time. If I remember correctly, the place was called Pirates Beach Bar & Grill?

I then also came across the best pizza (there’s a trend, if you hadn’t noticed) in a place called Foxy’s – they give out a mahoosive list of toppings, and you just tick what you want. Amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten more than two slices in one sitting before. This was definitely the food holiday of the summer!

la France

Second journey of the holidays was a bit less mad! My friend has been studying in Lyon, France for the summer, and so I figured I’d come out and keep her company for a few days to see where she was. I’d never been to France before; my primary school went on a trip to Paris when I was about 10, but my parents didn’t want me going… so this was a long time coming, and I’m sure my mum and dad are relieved that I’ve finally stopped complaining about it after 10 years.

Lyon is BEAUTIFUL. Like, I don’t think I’ve ever been so in love with a place before. I keep thinking about it and it’s getting a bit ridiculous now. There’s two rivers that run through it, and there’s so many cute boats just sitting in them. Trees everywhere too, and the streets are just so pretty. I can’t even explain it properly, these descriptions made more sense in my head! Just… look at the photos, they’ll help.

Sadly I speak very little French, and so I thought the entire trip that I wouldn’t be able to converse with the locals… so I practically lived off of McDonalds the whole time. Turns out that Lyon has been crowned the food capital of the world, so now I have an excuse to go back and actually make an effort with their culture! Plus, I ended up meeting a fab group of people in a bar on one of my final nights, and it turns out they actually speak pretty decent English. Oops.

Tuaisceart Éireann

Okay, so turns out “Northern Ireland” in Irish isn’t as obvious as the others in their traditional languages… but yeah, I was in Northern Ireland haha.

I come from an island off the west coast of Scotland, so we’re really close to Northern Ireland (though we are still Scottish!) – I can see it from my house, so it’s somewhere I’ve been wanting to check out for a while. Due to being so close, there’s some locals who take their boats over for the day, so a group of us headed over to Ballycastle for a bit!

It was a really sunny day for once, so the whole day was really lovely! We only had a few hours, and in all honesty the focus of the trip was to find a decent pub (of which there was plenty!), so my range of photos is very limited for such a pretty location. I’d definitely go back sometime to properly explore – although I don’t think I’d so willingly do that boat journey too soon… #badtraveller 🙁

I’m so jealous of your travels! I’ve never been to any of these places and I consider myself a traveller… Maga always looks fun but I never expected the food to look so good! Also, get to Paris if you can – it’s stunning!
Eva x
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